


you're on my brain (just move in with me already)

by nanasbyulie



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, 7dream, ChenJi, Cute, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hugs, M/M, Minor Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Minor Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, Moving In Together, close friends, markhyuck???, nomin, so!much!kissing, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanasbyulie/pseuds/nanasbyulie
Summary: five times lee jeno tries to ask his longterm boyfriend na jaemin to move in with him (and fails).and the one time he realizes he wasn't the only one thinking about it after all.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99





	you're on my brain (just move in with me already)

**Author's Note:**

> here's some backstories if you're interested in those :)  
> 🌸 7dream pre-established friendship  
> 🌸 markno are siblings, jaesung are cousins  
> 🌸 00 line graduates smu in a month  
> 🌸 jaem's a pre med, renjun's an art major, jeno&hyuck are comp sci majors  
> 🌸 chenle is a third year journalism major  
> 🌸 jisung's not in uni, he's signed with a dance team & studio and performs often  
> 🌸 chenji met when chenle (in 2nd year) was covering jisung's dance team in an nationwide competition for the local newspaper & started dating soon after  
> 🌸 mark is a med student at smu and jeno&jaemin met through him since he was jaem's senior in pre med  
> 🌸 nohyuck have been best friends since high school, renmin have been best friends since kindergarten  
> 🌸 markhyuck met through jeno

_⤏_

_1_ |

Jeno runs a hand through his hair, leaning back on the worn couch with a sigh. Hyuck’s also curled up in a throw blanket on the other couch, his eyes staring at the wall instead of the material in front of him. They’ve been at it for a few hours now, and Jeno laughs mirthlessly at the realization that it just doesn’t get easier. Four years of university, and exams are still the same amount of stress as they were in first year. Hyuck seems to be on a similar train of thought because he says “I can’t wait to be done, Jeno-yah. I can’t believe I have _three_ finals this semester.”

Jeno nods dejectedly, looking at the whiteboard calendar on the wall between the kitchen and living room. The deadlines in black are Mark’s (and really, Jeno doesn’t like looking at them because there’s just _so many_ of them, but he expects that given Mark is a med student) and the ones in blue are his. For this month, there’s two blue scribbles, one a week from today, and the other two days after that. His last two university exams.

The only class that Jeno shares with Hyuck this semester is Advanced Cyber Security. It is interesting, but extremely theory heavy. With the second exam that follows that, he isn’t too worried about, since it’s a non-major based course with an open book exam. Hyuck on the other hand has three important exams.

Both his and Hyuck’s heads snap when the front door of the house opens just as Jeno’s about to answer Hyuck. Mark walks in, tired smile on his face. Jeno smiles at him, and then looks back at Hyuck, continuing the conversation.

“That’s because you were foolish enough to decide to specialize in Biotech. _Why_ would you take biology again after high school?”

He then turns to Mark, “How in the world did you inspire him to take biology, hyung?”

Mark’s eyes widen, and Jeno realizes what he’s just said. Mark looks at Hyuck, and Jeno turns to look at him too, realizing he’s already glaring at Jeno.

“You took biology because I inspired you to take it?” Mark asks, surprise clear in his voice. Hyuck flushes.

“I mean — you made it sound interesting, and you were _TA_ ing the first-year class so I figured I could try and take it, and I ended up getting really interested in it.”

“Oh,” Mark says, smiling softly, “Well, I’m glad regardless. You two continue studying, I’m going to crash for a few hours, I’m bone tired.”

“Feel better, Mark hyung,” Hyuck says, and Mark retires to his bedroom, closing the door softly behind him.

“You little _shit_ ,” Hyuck mutters, not unkindly, throwing a ball of paper at Jeno, “Please stop embarrassing me in front of my crush.”

Jeno rubs his temples. “I still can’t believe you have a crush on my brother, of all people,” he says, “But I _am_ sorry, it just slipped out.”

Hyuck nods half-heartedly, and then pulls himself up, stretching his hands behind his head as he yawns. “I’m also tired,” he mutters, “I’m going to get going now, Jeno. We can study again over the weekend at the library, I guess? I need to study for my bio class before the end of the week too.”

Jeno nods. “Let me know if you need any help, since I have more time to prepare than you do.”

“Thanks mate,” Hyuck says, stuffing his books and laptop back into his bag and taking his leave. Jeno’s back to agonizing over his notes for the next three hours, looking up only when Mark drags himself out of his room. “You’re still at it?” Mark asks, coming over to fondly ruffle Jeno’s hair, “Take a break, you’re going to make yourself sick at this rate. I ordered some pizza, let’s eat.”

Jeno nods, sitting himself at the kitchen island as Mark gets the delivery, happening to glance at the letter Mark has placed on the counter. Rotations at _Jeongdae Medical_? Jeno grins when Mark walks in.

“You got your first choice for your rotations next year, hyung!” He says excitedly, and Mark notices the paper in his hand and grins.

“Yeah! I wasn’t really expecting it, but I just found out. I’m really happy.”

“Isn’t it pretty far from here, though?” Jeno asks, taking a bite of the pizza as Mark settles down in front of him. Mark seems to pause for a second, like he’s not sure how he wants to say what he’s going to say, before he sighs.

“Well, I was wondering if I should move, so that I’m closer to the hospital, since I’ll only be coming into uni twice a week, while I’ll be at the hospital three to four days a week.”

“Like, moving houses?” Jeno asks, putting his pizza down. Mark nods.

“I didn’t discuss with you because I wasn’t sure I was going to get Jeongdae, and my second choice doesn’t require me to move. I’m still not entirely sure, I’m sorry—”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, hyung,” Jeno says with a small smile, “I understand. And that seems like a reasonable choice, it’ll be easier to commute more for two days instead of four a week.”

Mark nods, lips pulling up. Jeno and Mark work well like that. They’d always been close as siblings, and while they’re not very similar, they get along and understand each other really well. Jeno does still wonder why Mark decided to torture himself by taking up medicine, because Jeno could never. But then again, if Mark hadn’t, Jeno probably wouldn’t have met the love of his life so . . . maybe it wasn’t such a bad choice on Mark’s end.

“You’re thinking about Jaemin again,” Mark says with a fond smile, “You always get that goofy faraway look on your face when you are.”

If it was a few years ago, Jeno would’ve blushed and denied it. Now, he just admits it with a nod.

“Have you considered moving in with him?” Mark asks. Has Jeno considered moving in with Jaemin? He has, briefly. For the first two years that they were dating, the thought probably didn’t occur to them much, since they were both slow to explore their relationship, taking small steps and taking their time. As it comes up to their third year and the end of their undergraduate lives, Jeno finds himself thinking this might be the time to take that next step and move in with each other.

“I am now,” he tells Mark with a smile, “It makes sense to move in together now anyways.”

Mark nods, pointing to the box of pizza to ask Jeno if he’s done — he is — and closes the box and puts it in the refrigerator. “You should talk to him about it. I guess you both have a couple of months left on your leases, so you have that time to figure things out.”

Jeno nods, just as his phone starts buzzing on the counter. The screen lights up with the photo of the pink haired boy, and Mark chuckles, pushing the phone towards Jeno. “Speaking of the devil,” he says, “Say hi to him for me.”

But Jeno’s not listening to Mark anymore, smile widening as he accepts the call and brings his phone to his ear.

“Hey, babe,” he says softly, and he hears Jaemin’s giggle on the other side.

  
“Jeno,” Jaemin says, and Jeno notes that the boy sounds tired. He’s not surprised. While all of them are in pre-finals season, Jaemin has more on his plate with his med school applications and interviews lining up as well. Jeno hasn’t seen him for a few days, because he spends almost all his time cooped up at the library or with his study group during the day.

“You sound really tired love, are you back home?”

“Yeah, I just got back,” Jaemin says, “I _am_ tired, but now that I’m talking to you, I already feel tons better. I miss seeing your face every day. Are you holding up okay?”

Jeno chuckles. “I’m holding up better than you, at least.” He says, “But not really. I’m so over finals season, I can’t wait to be done.”

Jaemin groans. “Tell me about it. On the positive side though, we’ll be done in a month. We’re graduating, Jeno-yah. Do you believe it? I can’t believe how quickly time has passed; it feels like yesterday I was a first year.”

“I know,” Jeno says. “I’m really proud of us baby.”

_Move in with me?_

“Me too. You’re the best thing that happened to me in university though. I love you, Jeno.”

_Move in with me._

“I love you too, Jaemin-ie,” Jeno says, feeling happiness blossom in his heart. It’s not like they’re saying it for the first time. In fact, they say it to each other almost every day, sometimes even several times a day. And yet, Jeno’s heart warms every time he hears Jaemin say those words.

_I love you so much, Na Jaemin._

“I was thinking—” he starts, just as Jaemin says, “Oh! Jisungie’s here! Awh, he got tteokbokki. I was really craving some.”

Jeno smiles. “You haven’t eaten yet, love?”

“Yeah, I was just about cook something, but Jisung’s got that covered. Did you eat something?”

“I did,” Jeno assures him, “Go eat, baby. It sounds like it’s been a long day, and you’re seeing Jisung after a while too!”

“Yeah,” Jaemin says, “I’ll see you tomorrow, right? I miss you, Nono.”

Jeno smiles at the nickname. “I’ll come pick you up after class, Nana. See you tomorrow. Love you.”

_I’ll ask next time_ , Jeno decides. When things have calmed down a little for the both of them. They have time. Right now, he’s just excited to see his boyfriend again tomorrow, and shower him with a lot of love and kisses.

⤏

_2_ |

Jeno is feeling better today. As he walks out of the exam hall, a feeling of gratefulness spreads through him. One exam down, one to go. And then all he has to do is focus on perfecting his thesis for the next two weeks, and he’s _done_.

The thought is enough to elate him. He heads to the local Starbucks, waiting in line at the counter to get himself and Jaemin a drink before he heads over to pick up his boyfriend from the library.

“Hi! Can I have an Iced American—"

“Jeno hyung!”

He looks up from the floor, lips pulling up as he sees the excitable boy behind the counter. “Hey Chenle! I didn’t know you were working during finals season!”

Chenle glances behind Jeno to make sure there isn’t anyone else in line, before grinning. “I don’t have any exams, just a lot of essay submissions,” he says, “And I had a head start on most of them, so I’m not too stressed.”

Jeno smiles. That sounds exactly like Chenle. In terms of being punctual and in control of his school and work life, he’s only second to Jaemin. Jeno has yet to figure out how the both of them manage to not give in to procrastination, and he admires them for it.

“That’s good to hear, Chenle-yah. How’s everything else?”

“It’s going good!” Chenle says, happiness in his voice contagious, “Jisung’s coming over during the weekend and I’m really excited to see him! He’s been really busy preparing for the next competition, we haven’t been able to see each other much. Are you heading to see Jaemin hyung? Do you want your usual order?”

Jeno nods. “Yep! Iced Americano and a Strawberry Frappuccino, both in tall.”

“You got it!” Chenle says with a happy smile, tapping Jeno’s student card on the machine to get him the student discount, and handing him the drinks a few minutes later. Jeno gives the boy a wide smile and a quick wave before he heads out.

He spots Jaemin’s tall, sinewy figured leaning against the front of the library building, and he quickens his pace, walking in behind Jaemin. The boy doesn’t notice him immediately, and Jeno takes it as a chance to lean down and press his lips against his boyfriend’s cheek in a soft kiss. Jaemin relaxes under it immediately, turning around with a familiar smile on his face, hands wrapping around Jeno’s neck loosely on instinct.

“Hey babe,” Jeno says, eyes fixated on the boy in front of him. Jaemin’s doe eyes shimmer as they look at Jeno, and Jeno feels himself melt, and he carefully sets down their drinks on the windowsill next to him to wrap his arms around Jaemin’s waist. Jaemin fits into his arms perfectly.

“I missed you,” Jaemin says, “I missed you so, _so_ much, Jeno-yah. I’m taking it your exam went well?”

Jeno nods. “It did. And I missed you so much too, Nana. It’s been a hard two weeks, I’ve barely gotten to see you, angel.”

Jaemin giggles, and Jeno melts again. He knows just how much Jaemin adores nicknames, especially when Jeno slips them into the conversation casually. Jaemin reaches one of his hands up cup Jeno’s face, and after a moment of looking fondly at him, he leans forward to press a chaste kiss to the elder’s lips. Jeno’s hands wrap tighter around Jaemin, pulling him closer. Jaemin smells like he always does — of a hint of chemicals from the lab, masked with his favourite citrus and jasmine perfume. Jeno lets it engulf him. Jaemin pulls back too quickly, and Jeno pouts, making the younger laugh.

“I just don’t want the ice in my drink melting, Nono,” Jaemin says, leaning up to press another quick kiss to Jeno’s lips before stepping back, eyes still sparkling. He picks up his Americano, and hands Jeno his drink, before threading his fingers through Jeno’s and pulling him lightly to start walking.

“Are you feeling prepared for your first exam tomorrow?” he asks after a sip, and he feels bad for asking as he watches Jaemin’s face fall. His face must have fallen too, because Jaemin looks at him and laughs.

“Don’t worry, love,” Jaemin says, “It’s just hard to tell if or not I’m prepared for this exam because it just covers such a broad syllabus. You know how I can’t afford to let my grades drop if I want to get into a good med school. The competition is no joke.”

“I know,” Jeno says with a sigh, unthreading their fingers and instead wrapping his hand around Jaemin’s waist, as the air gets colder. Jaemin snuggles closer gratefully, and tucks his hand in the pocket of Jeno’s jacket. “I wish there was something I could do to help, Jaemin-ie.”

“Your being here helps a lot, you know that right?” Jaemin asks, with a pretty smile on his face, “It’s not too taxing mentally, honestly. Everything’s going according to my study plan, it’s just that the study plan involves studying for more than ten hours every day. It’s more physically exhausting.”

“You and Chenle,” Jeno mutters in disbelief, setting Jaemin and then himself down on a park bench overlooking the uni grounds, “How do you two manage to make it sound like the easiest thing to make plans and then successfully keep up with them?”

Jaemin laughs, leaning over to boop Jeno’s nose. “It’s just the way we work best, Jeno-yah, doesn’t mean we always have it under control. Besides, you’re clearly doing far better than I am when it comes to taking care of yourself while still acing your exams.” Jaemin playfully pokes Jeno’s bicep, and Jeno laughs.

Jaemin, despite himself being the lean and athletic type, has a thing for muscles (particularly on Jeno). He’s made that abundantly clear whenever Jeno’s caught him staring when he’s wearing short sleeves or well fitted tops. Even now, when Jeno raises his eyebrows and makes a show of flexing his arms, Jaemin flushes, making Jeno laugh. He’s right — Jeno might not be the best at planning everything, but there’s some things that he takes very seriously. Sticking to his diet and exercise regimen is one, and keeping up a decent GPA is the other.

Jaemin gazes at him fondly. “You look so pretty when you laugh, my Jeno,” he says, leaning his head against Jeno’s shoulder, and even though they’ve been dating so long and even though it’s not like Jaemin’s saying anything that he’s not heard before, Jeno flushes at Jaemin calling him _his_ , “How did I get so lucky?”

Jeno presses his lips against the side of Jaemin’s head in a soft kiss. “I’m the lucky one,” he murmurs, “My angel.”

Jaemin seems to be comfortable, and very tired, because when Jeno turns to look at him, he seems to have fallen asleep. With a smile, Jeno shifts so that his shoulder is a little lower, and Jaemin can nuzzle into it comfortably and not stretch his neck.

Jeno knows Jaemin has to go back to the library to study with a few of his classmates in about half an hour, and he’s probably going to be mad at himself when he realizes he spent his break with Jeno by falling asleep, but Jeno doesn’t have it in his heart to wake the boy up. He looks peaceful, and the bags under his eyes indicate just how in need of sleep he is. And so Jeno lets him be, staring at the people around campus as he softly plays with Jaemin’s fingers.

Another twenty minutes later, Jeno decides he should wake Jaemin up if the younger wants to make it back to the library in time, and slowly shakes him awake.

“Baby? You should wake up, you have a study session soon, don’t you?”

Jaemin lifts his head, looking a little disoriented as his eyes adjust to his surroundings, and looks up to Jeno. “I’m so sorry I fell asleep Jeno-yah,” he mumbles, “We were supposed to spend time together and—”

Jeno leans forward to press a kiss to his forehead. “We did spend time together. And you looked like you really needed that nap, Jaem, I’m glad you got some rest. Come on, let me walk you back to the library, yeah?”

Jaemin nods, hand threading with Jeno’s again as he lets the older lead the way.

“How long are you planning to stay?” Jeno asks as they come up to the library, and Jaemin shrugs.

“Probably three to four hours, more if we need to.”

Jeno looks at his watch, which says it’s six pm already, and he sighs.

Jaemin seems to agree with the sentiment, because he leans his head against Jeno’s chest and murmurs, “It’s going to be another late night. I really wish I lived closer to campus, you know? My house is so far from here, it takes me almost forty-five minute even after being done for the day to actually make it home.”

Jeno pauses. _Move in with me_ , he thinks, _we can get an apartment close to campus so that you don’t have to travel forty-five minutes every day and—_

“But then again,” Jaemin continues, “I do love the place. It’s cozy and well, it’s home. I shouldn’t be complaining.”

Jeno sighs. “Call me if you need company when you go back home, yeah? I’ll come over and ride the bus with you.”

Jaemin laughs. “You’re so dreamy, Lee Jeno,” he says, lifting his head and pressing a small kiss to Jeno’s nose, “How do you always say such sweet things? Don’t worry though, I wouldn’t want you to spend an hour and a half just dropping me home and going back to your place late at night. You also have an exam day after, babe, I’m not the only one struggling. Get home early and take some rest, yeah? I’ll call you once I get back.”

Jeno nods slightly, pressing his lips one more time to Jaemin’s. “Make sure to call me, yeah?”

Jaemin nods, lips pulling into a dreamy smile as per usual. “I love you, Jeno.”

“I love you too, babe.”

He watches as Jaemin walks back to the library, stopping every few steps to wave at him with that breathtaking smile until he’s out of Jeno’s line of sight.

_Next time_ , Jeno thinks again, _I’ll ask him next time_.

⤏

_3_ |

Jeno loves Jaemin’s hugs. And he doesn’t mean he loves them a normal amount — if he could, he’d want them twenty-four seven. They’re soft, they’re warm and they’re Jaemin’s love language. Each hug means something, and each one has Jeno dissolving into a puddle of feelings.

He’s on the receiving end of one of said hugs right now. Jaemin is in an extremely clingy mood today, which means one of two things — there’s something really happy that happened today and he’s in one of his grateful to the world moods. Or, on the entire flipside, he’s extremely stressed and wants hugs to calm himself down.

Jeno doesn’t push him to tell which one of the two it is when he turns up at Jeno’s door with no prior intimation, and wraps his arms around the older boy’s waist, nuzzling his head in Jeno’s shoulder. He merely wraps his hands around Jaemin’s shoulders, pulling him into the house and softly pushing the door close with his feet. Jaemin will tell Jeno in his own time, and Jeno will wait until then.

“Hey baby,” he says, as if Jaemin didn’t just turn up unannounced to give him a hug, as if he hasn’t just stolen Jeno’s breath away. Jaemin squeaks softly in answer into Jeno’s shoulder, wrapping his hands tighter around his waist.

They’re just standing there, in the hallway, holding on tightly to each other, and Jeno would want to be nowhere else. He lets his fingers play softly with the tips of Jaemin’s hair reaching his neck, humming softly as he feels Jaemin’s breath fan against his neck. So, _so_ warm.

Jaemin pulls back a little after a few more moments, only so that he can look at Jeno. Jeno can’t help the way his lips pull up in a smile, followed by Jaemin’s own as well. Jaemin softly traces the crinkles around Jeno’s eyes. “So pretty,” he mumbles, “My boyfriend is so pretty.” And as per usual, Jeno flushes.

“Do you want to come in, or are we going to stand here like this?” Jeno asks, but he makes no motion to move, letting his hands slide down so they’re now comfortably resting a little above Jaemin’s hips. He lets Jaemin fix his bangs which have stood up after Jaemin nuzzled into him. Jaemin makes a sound of approval once he’s done and then, making no attempt to actually pull away from Jeno, pulls him into the living room and on the couch.

“Were you busy?” Jaemin asks, looking over at the flurry of paper, coffee and electronics scattered around the living room. Jeno shakes his head. “It’ll be like this for another week while I finish up the thesis,” he says, “But never too busy for you, babe.”

Jaemin smiles shyly at that, pulling his feet up on the couch and shifting closer to Jeno. He threads their fingers together, and cocks his head to look at Jeno.

“I love you so much, Lee Jeno,” he says quietly, “I can physically feel my heart rate quickening every time I think of you, my mind races thinking of your pretty smile, of your dedicated and smart mind, of the way you’ll never fail to remind me how precious I am, of the way I know you’re my soulmate. I _love_ you, _I love you_. I can’t tell you that enough times.”

Jeno could cry. Scratch that, he is crying. “Jaemin-ie,” he murmurs, but then he can’t find the words. He can’t find the words because Jaemin’s stolen them all from him and he doesn’t know how to tell Jaemin that he means the world to Jeno and—

But Jaemin seems to know anyways. It’s in the way he smiles at Jeno, the way he reaches up to cup his cheek and pulls him closer and presses his lips to Jeno’s. And it says everything that Jeno can’t.

He mumbles against Jaemin’s lips, “I love you so much, Nana,” and Jaemin seems to love it, because he pulls Jeno closer, leaning back on the couch and taking Jeno down with him so that Jeno’s on top of him. His hands wrap around Jeno’s neck, and Jeno takes this opportunity to wrap his hands around Jaemin’s waist, until he’s flush against the smaller boy, effectively capturing him against the sofa.

Jeno runs his tongue along Jaemin’s lips, and Jaemin lets him in almost instinctively. Jeno swallows a soft whimper escaping Jaemin’s lips and tilts his head to deepen the kiss until all he can think and feel is _Jaemin, Jaemin, Jaemin_. Jaemin and his little smiles, Jaemin and his shiny doe eyes, Jaemin and his steadfast belief in helping people, Jaemin and his unwavering dedication to wanting to become a doctor, Jaemin and his giggles and his laughs and his soft kisses and — just Jaemin.

Jeno’s breathing hard when he finally pulls away, laughing at the noise of annoyance from Jaemin, and he lets Jaemin pull him back for another sweet kiss.

“You don’t expect me to be able to think about my thesis after that, do you, love?” he says laughing softly, and Jaemin blushes.

“I’m sorry,” Jaemin says, “I just — I just wanted to be with you right now.”

“And I’m so grateful you acted on that instinct,” Jeno says, leaning forward to press his lips softly against Jaemin’s forehead, “I was just about to make some dumplings. Do you want some too? Have you eaten?”

Almost as if to answer Jeno’s question, Jaemin’s stomach rumbles, and the boy’s cheeks go as pink as his hair, bubbling another laugh from Jeno’s lips. “I take it as you haven’t, then.”

“Let me help,” Jaemin says with a smile, and lets Jeno pull him up from the couch and into the kitchen. Jeno was in the middle of washing his vegetables right before Jaemin had come in, and naturally Jaemin continues washing the rest, passing the chopping board and knife to Jeno to ask him to start chopping the ones that are already washed.

Jeno takes it with a smile, starting with the cabbage, while Jaemin moves around the kitchen gathering the other ingredients and utensils.

“Isn’t Mark at home?”

Jeno raises a teasing eyebrow at Jaemin. “Don’t you think I would’ve dragged you into my room for that make out session if he was? I don’t like turning my poor single brother into a blubbering mess on deliberate occasions, Nana.”

Jaemin laughs his tinkling laugh, throwing his head back. “I mean, he himself is to blame for the single part, isn’t he? Hyuck’s been making heart eyes at him for almost two years now, and he doesn’t get a hint.”

“I mean, Mark is a little bit dumb when it comes to figuring out his feelings, you know.”

Jaemin smiles mischievously, “Just like someone else I know.”

“Hey!” Jeno says defensively, “I didn’t make you wait for two years!”

Jaemin laughs and Jeno knows he doesn’t actually mean it in any way other than teasing, but he sometimes still does feel bad about making Jaemin wait.

Jaemin, who wore his heart on his sleeve and shyly confessed to Jeno, and foolish, _foolish_ Jeno, who’d never indulged himself in the thought that perhaps he liked Jaemin more than just friends. Jeno who’d never realized until then how his eyes always landed on Jaemin when he walked in, the way they always followed him, the way he liked him close, and the way he loved to make him smile. Jeno, who’d told Jaemin he needed a while because he didn’t know his feelings, and Jaemin who’d agreed, even if tears prickled his eyes.

“Hey,” Jaemin says, placing his hand softly on Jeno’s arm, as if he knows exactly what Jeno’s thinking, “I mean it. I was never mad at you for making me wait. You’re you and you were making sure you didn’t hurt me either way. You were being exactly the Jeno I’d come to know and love, the boy who wouldn’t want a misunderstanding or hurried confession to break someone’s heart. I can never be mad at you for that, do you understand?”

Jeno smiles, stealing a quick kiss and taking Jaemin’s breath away. “I know,” he says, smiling softly at the obvious effect he has on the younger, “But I’m still going to spend all my time trying to make you the happiest you’ve ever felt to make up for any time that I did make you wait.”

Jaemin smiles, wrapping his hand around Jeno’s waist in a back hug. “You already make feel like the happiest person on this planet,” he says fondly, “You always will.”

He then rests his head on Jeno’s shoulder as Jeno cinches the dumplings before he can start steaming them, and murmurs, “This is so domestic. So domestic and nice. I could get used to this.”

Jeno’s hands stop on their own accord as he freezes. _Now_ , he thinks, _ask him now_.

Jaemin — who obviously has no idea of what Jeno’s thinking about — continues talking.

“I just, I came here because I felt so scared and stressed today, Jeno-yah, and I love how I know as long as I come to you, I’ll be fine.”

“Stressed about what, baby? Is there anything I can do to help?” Jeno asks softly, and feels Jaemin shake his head against his back.

“None of us can do anything about it,” Jaemin says, “I’ve just — I’ve just been feeling so scared of my results for med school. What if I don’t get into SMU Med? Even worse, what if I don’t get into any medical school in Seoul? I can’t imagine having to go anywhere far away from you. What happens if everything goes wrong and—"

“Baby, breathe,” Jeno murmurs, putting the dumpling in his hand down to turn around and look at Jaemin, “Breathe. You’re going to be okay. I can’t promise what school you’ll get into, but I promise you’re going to do well. You’re _you_. You’ve wanted and planned to be a pediatrician since you were ten, you’ve been and will continue working hard for it regardless of where you go. You’re going to be such an amazing doctor, Jaem. And another thing I can promise you — wherever you are, we’ll be fine. _I love you,_ Na Jaemin, and I know you feel the same way about me. We’ll make it work. We’ll see it through. Yeah?”

Jaemin’s eyes are glistening. He takes a shuddering breath, hands wrapping around Jeno’s waist and head resting on his chest.

“I believe you,” he murmurs, “I believe you Jeno. How can I not? We’re going to be fine.”

“We’re going to be fine,” Jeno echoes, pulling him closer and pressing a soft kiss on the top of his head.

_We’re going to be fine, and we’ll figure it out. Even if it takes us a while._

⤏

_4_ |

Jeno’s awoken that morning by a loud banging on the door.

“ _Lee Jeno,_ _wake up_!”

He sits up in his bed groggily, eyes adjusting to the dark room, and he stumbles to the door to open it. Donghyuck stands on the other side, his eyes shining, and Jeno raises an eyebrow.

“Hyuck?”

“Jeno! I got it! I got in, _oh my fucking god._ ”

It takes a while for it to dawn, but when it does, Jeno’s eyes are widening. “No way,” he says, “Hyuck I’m so happy for you!”

Hyuck grins at him, before turning around and walking to the living room. Jeno follows, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“Hyuck?”

Jeno and Donghyuck both look up to see Mark walking in, presumably from his run given how he’s chugging down water, and his towel hangs around his neck.

Jeno looks at Hyuck, who’s flushed red, and decides to help his friend out until he finds the words.

“Hyuck got the Neotech internship!” he tells Mark, and watches his brother’s eyes widen. Mark’s department has worked with Neotech on their biotechnology research before, and it’s a known fact that getting an internship with them is prestigious — especially since most of those internships later lead into full time jobs.

“Wait, what? _Whoa!_ ” He comes over to pull Hyuck in a hug, and Jeno knows his brother enough to know that he didn’t actually think through what he was doing and only that he was extremely happy for Hyuck, but the way Hyuck’s gone rigid in his arms roots him back to the reality of the situation.

Jeno has no intention to watch the aftermath, and so he saunters back into his bathroom to brush his teeth and get ready for the morning.

After showering, he’s scrolling through the messages he’s missed when he crashed last night, and his eyes shoot up when he notices a message that’d come in a couple of hours after he’d fallen asleep.

Jaemin’s message. One that just says, _I’m so worried Jeno-yah_ _ㅠㅠ_ _Just found out my med school results come out tomorrow at 10. I can barely sleep._

A flustered Jeno runs his hands through his hair, hurriedly slipping into a sweatshirt and jeans and running out of the room.

Mark and Hyuck are perched on the kitchen counter. Mark seems to have changed into his daily clothes, and they’re both eating toast and are engaged in casual conversation, presumably avoiding the previous awkward encounter. Mark’s eyebrows shoot up when he notices Jeno.

“You okay, Jeno?” he asks.

Jeno just sort of awkwardly gestures to his phone. “I, uh — _fuck_.”

“Whoa,” Hyuck says, “You’re _not_ okay.”

Jeno sighs. “Nana’s med school result. It comes out today.”

Hyuck nods. “I know. Mark and I were actually just about to head over to Renjun and Jaem’s place.”

Jeno frowns. “Why would you—”

Hyuck just gives Jeno a cheshire grin. “Maybe we know something you don’t.”

Jeno looks desperately at Mark, who just softly smacks Hyuck upside the head. Hyuck makes a disgruntled noise, and Mark smiles fondly at him, which promptly shuts the younger boy up.

“We don’t,” Mark says, “But the chances of Jaemin getting in are pretty high, and Renjun wanted to celebrate both Hyuck’s internship and your job hiring together. He just called to invite us.”

It does make sense to Jeno. Coming from Mark, he knows Jaemin does have a very good chance of getting into SMU Medical. His boyfriend has a tendency of putting himself down and convincing himself that something would go wrong. But . . .

“Just in case—” he starts, but Hyuck cuts him off.

“Just in case that doesn’t happen, he’ll still want his friends around to assure him that his worth isn’t determined by whether or not he got into SMU. He’s getting into one of the good schools for sure.”

“And I get it that you’re his boyfriend and all, but we just thought we could celebrate together. You got hired at your dream company yesterday, Hyuck got into his dream internship, Renjun’s also graduating with honours and with a good kick off to his career — you all deserve a good time. It’s been a while since all seven of us have met up.”

“Did you all plan this without telling me or Jaemin?” Jeno grumbles, and Mark laughs.

“Sorry baby bro,” he says, ruffling Jeno’s hair, “We knew you wouldn’t be able to keep it from Jaemin.”

“All right, can we get going now, please?”

“Since when did you two start getting along so well?” Jeno mumbles under his breath as he passes Hyuck and Mark, and doesn’t miss the way both of their cheeks flare up. He chuckles.

He wants to text Jaemin to let him know he’s going to him, but he refrains. The drive is about twenty five minutes if they can beat the morning traffic, and Jaemin’s results come out around that time too. He doesn’t want to spoil the surprise for Jaemin if he can — his boyfriend does love surprises.

They do make it on time, just as his phone lets him know it’s three minutes to ten. Renjun’s already standing at the door when the elevator dings open, and he smiles at Jeno.

“He’s, uh—” he gestures vaguely in the direction of Jaemin’s room, “Go to him.”

Jeno nods, stepping past Renjun quickly and knocking on Jaemin’s room.

“Come in, Renjun, you know you don’t need to knock if the door’s not locked— _Jeno_.”

“Hey baby,” Jeno murmurs, quietly shutting the door behind him and walking over to Jaemin, who’s sitting on the bed, laptop open in front of him.

He shuffles in behind him, so he can pull Jaemin closer. He looks tired, and Jeno wonders if he really didn’t get any sleep the previous night, and nuzzles his head softly in his shoulder.

“How’re you feeling?”

Jaemin shudders against him, but Jeno can already feel him relaxing in his embrace.

“Like shit,” he says, making Jeno chuckle, “I know it’s irrational. I’ve worked so hard, and I haven’t messed up. Even if I don’t get into SMU, I’m sure I’ll get into my second or third choice at least. But I still feel stressed.”

Jeno’s now pressing butterfly kisses to Jaemin’s neck and cheeks, and Jaemin slowly leans back and sighs.

“Everything you said is right, babe,” Jeno says, “It’s okay if you feel scared, yeah? It’s a huge thing, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed. That’s why I came here running, I wanted to be here for you when you opened the result. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your message last night. I’m a terrible boyfr—”

“No!” Jaemin chides immediately, and Jeno laughs at how he’s shifted from being sad to mad the second Jeno tries to apologize, “I knew you’d be asleep Jeno-yah, you’d just finished your thesis, and you didn’t even know the result was today. I just texted you that because I knew you’d understand.”

Jeno hums in agreement into Jaemin’s shoulder just as the time goes from 9:59 to 10:00 on the timer in front of Jaemin, and the _Check Your Result_ button appears on the screen.

Jaemin looks at Jeno, almost as if he isn’t sure what to do, and Jeno leans forward to press a soft kiss to Jaemin’s forehead. “Go ahead, then, Jaemin-ah.” He murmurs, “And know I’m proud of you no matter what. You’ve worked so hard, love.”

Jaemin smiles softly and nods, before turning back to the laptop. He presses the button, and pulls his fingers over his eyes.

But Jeno sees. Jeno sees it happen — the screen going white and a loading modal appearing, and then leading to a page with animated confetti.

“Baby,” he’s muttering, “Look at it.”

Jaemin peeks out from behind his fingers, and Jeno watches with a fond smile as his doe eyes widen and his brain registers what the screen says.

“Jeno,” Jaemin says, voice barely above a whisper, “ _Oh my god_ , Jeno. I got in, Jeno-yah!”

Jeno barely has time to catch his breath as Jaemin throws himself at Jeno, knocking him onto the bed, with Jaemin on top of him. He looks so, so happy, Jeno’s heart skips several beats. Happiness looks _so beautiful_ on Na Jaemin.

“Jeno-yah,” he murmurs, quieter now, and his eyes water a little, “ _I got in_.”

“I’m so proud of you baby,” Jeno says, “You deserve it _so_ much.”

Jaemin leans forward to pepper butterfly kisses to Jeno’s lips. “I love you so much. Thank you for being here. And I’m so proud of you too, you know that right?”

Jeno chuckles, cupping Jaemin’s cheeks to pull him in for a proper kiss in answer, until someone coughs at the door.

Jeno doesn’t hide his glare when Jaemin’s head shoots up to look at Hyuck at his door, with Renjun and Mark behind him.

“Actually, we’re here too, you know.”

Jeno wants to push him out. But Jaemin’s eyes sparkle, and he finds himself melting.

“Oh my god! Hyuck, Mark! I— Renjun, you planned this right?”

Jaemin’s best friend just gives him a bright smile.

“Congrats Nana,” Renjun says, and lets Jaemin pull him into a tight hug, “I’m so happy for you.”

Jeno glares at Hyuck, who smirks. “Don’t worry, you can get plenty of kisses later, Jeno, let us congratulate the boy.”

“I don’t know why I put up with you and your whipped arse,” Jeno mutters, and this time, it’s Hyuck glaring. Mark just looks confused, and Jeno genuinely just wants to smack some sense into his clueless brother. Looking at Hyuck though, it seems like he’s going to do it sooner than Jeno anyways.

The bell to the house rings just then, and Jaemin’s eyebrows shoot up, looking between the door and then at Renjun, who grins knowingly. Jaemin lights up, hurrying to the door.

“Jisung! Chenle!”

Jeno grins, following as everyone tumbles into the living room, and Chenle lifts up bags of takeout and drinks excitedly. “It’s been so long, hyungs!”

By the time it’s lunch, they’re all sitting around comfortably, and Jeno realizes he has missed this. They don’t always get time to meet up together, all seven of them. Renjun’s eyes are shining as he tells Hyuck and Jisung about his newest art piece, Jaemin and Chenle are making some sort of fruit punch in the kitchen, and Jeno’s playing a racing game with Jisung, who whoops in victory, laughing when Jeno pouts at him.

“It was a good game, hyung,” he says, immediately making space when Chenle comes over to sit next to him.

Jaemin’s right behind, and Jeno’s transfixed on his sparkly eyes and happy smile. He can’t help it when he pulls the boy by the waist and sits him on his lap. Jaemin flushes, and Donghyuck, in true Donghyuck fashion, makes a gagging face, but there’s a decisive fondness in the group as they settle down again.

Renjun fills up seven glasses with the punch that Jaemin and Chenle have made, and passes them out.

“Congratulations are in order,” he says, and then Mark takes over from him.

“To Jeno, for getting hired in his dream company. To Renjun, to have graduated not only with honours, but as the valedictorian of the class and with so many people lined up for commissions from him. To Hyuck, for getting into the prestigious Neotech internship program. To Jaemin, for getting into SMU Medical! Am I missing anyone?”

_Now_ , Jeno thinks. _Everything’s fallen into place, he’s going to be here. Ask him now._

“Actually,” Jisung starts, blushing and looking down when all of them turn to look at him. Chenle gives his hand a small squeeze to urge him to continue. “Chenle and I have some news too.”

Donghyuck and Jeno raise their eyebrows, and Jaemin leans forward to look at the two youngest of the group. Jisung flushes further, making Chenle laugh fondly and ruffle his hair.

“We’re moving in together,” Chenle says.

_Oh_.

“Chenle’s been wanting to move out of the dorms for a while,” Jisung says, “And I wanted to move closer to the studio too. It just . . . made sense.”

“I’m so happy for you two,” Jaemin coos.

And Jeno is too. He’s seen both Chenle and Jisung slowly navigate their own relationship, and he knows this is a big step for them. He’s so happy for them, and he’s also proud of them.

One of them had the courage to ask the other. Much more courage than Jeno does.

_It’s alright_ , he thinks, _the pieces have fallen into place. I’ll ask him in my own time. It’s Chenle and Jisung’s day today. But I’ll ask him._

He’ll definitely ask Jaemin. And when Jaemin turns to look at him, eye smile full on display, Jeno knows it’s okay. He’ll figure it out soon. He’s okay to be really happy with everything that’s happened today. So very happy, surrounded by the people who make him the happiest. He doesn’t have to hurry it at all.

Because Jaemin’s going to be here. He’s going nowhere.

_⤏_

_5_ |

“Jaeminie!”

Mark scoffs, looking over at Jeno who shrugs. It’s not new to him how his mother dotes over Jaemin, and how of the three of them, the one she’s clearly excited to see the most is him.

Jaemin laughs, letting her pull him into a tight hug.

“Hello Mrs. Lee,” he says, “You look chirpy!”

“Of course I am, my favourite boy’s here!”

“Just wanted to remind you that both of your sons are also here,” Mark says, but he’s laughing. Jeno’s mother shrugs.

“I said what I said.”

Jeno’s dad comes out too, fond smile playing on his lips as he helps the three boys unload their bags from the car and pull them inside the house. Jaemin’s standing next to Jeno, helping him pull down one of the heavier bags that they’d strapped to the roof.

“I’m kind of scared,” he admits quietly, as they put it down. Jeno boops his nose.

“My parents adore you, Nana,” he says, “My mother clearly dotes on you more than she does Mark or me. You’re going to be perfectly fine.”

That does pull a laugh out of Jaemin. “Your parents are sweethearts. But I still have never actually been to your house, or been around them for more than a few hours. I hope they don’t change their mind about how they feel about me once they spend a few days with me.”

Jeno sighs, dropping his arm from the bag and wrapping it around Jaemin’s waist to pull the boy closer.

“You’re _perfect_ ,” he murmurs, and it’s only loud enough for Jaemin to hear, “If anything, they’re going to fall even more in love with you over the next five days.”

Jaemin giggles, hands tucking themselves under Jeno’s to hold on softly to his shirt. “You’re such a sweet talker, Lee Jeno,” he says, equally softly. Jeno can’t help himself leaning forward and pressing his lips to Jaemin’s in a soft kiss, nipping at his lower lip and pulling the smaller boy close as he melts into Jeno’s arms.

It’s a short lived moment, and Jeno’s stealing another quick kiss before they bend down to pick up their respective bags and head to the door. Jaemin’s cheeks go tomato red when he realizes Jeno’s mother had witnessed their entire exchange, and Jeno can tell he’s seconds away from panicking. He opens his mouth to say something, but his mother manages to go first.

“My word, you two are the _cutest_ ,” she says, beaming at Jaemin, “My son got quite the catch.”

And then, she’s waving a hand beckoning them inside, and turning around and walking off. Jeno smirks.

“I did get quite the catch,” he says, pressing his lips quickly to Jaemin’s flaming cheek, and then following his mother up the steps of the front door. Jaemin stays rooted to his spot outside for a moment before snapping out of it and following after Jeno, cheeks still flushed.

. . .

It turns out, Jeno _is_ right. If he thought his parents doted on Jaemin before, they’re practically smothering him in love a few hours later.

His father had been thoroughly impressed by Jaemin’s passion and dream to be a pediatrician (Mark was aggravated. ‘I’m also a med student, you never compliment _me_ this much!’), and the fact that Jaemin was good at chess (‘You should learn something from him, Jeno-yah. Chess reflects the real world in so many ways, and I know Jaemin’s good at handling real world situations just by the way he plays chess!’).

Jeno’s mother, in turn, had been delighted when Jaemin had offered to help her in the kitchen, and this time, neither Mark nor Jeno could offer up an argument, given both of them knew close to nothing about surviving in a kitchen.

They’re in the middle of a discussion on how Jaemin makes his Kimchi Jeon batter slightly differently to enhance its tastes, which his mother seems to find very interesting, when Jeno walks into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water.

Jaemin’s eyes shine immediately when he enters, and Jeno’s lips are pulling into a smile out of their own accord.

“Jeno-yah, I was just about call you,” his mother says, interrupting their eye contact, and Jeno turns to look at her in question, “You and Jaemin will be sleeping in your room together, right? I didn’t ask you two beforehand, but I assumed that would be the case.”

Jeno sneaks a look at Jaemin, whose cheeks are burning again. “Would— would you be okay with that, Mrs. Lee?”

Jeno supresses his laugh. Jeno’s mother makes no attempt to, and bursts out laughing like Jaemin’s just made a joke.

“Of course, Jaeminie,” she says, “You’re two responsible adults who’ve been in a relationship for a while. Why would I want you two to not share a room while you’re over? I’m not _that_ orthodox, hun.”

Jeno can’t help but chuckle how Jaemin keeps getting redder at her words, and slowly motions for his mother to change topics. She smiles fondly at him and nods.

“How about I show you around?” she asks, “You haven’t been here before, I’m sure you’d like to see Jeno and Mark’s old rooms. They haven’t used them much since they went to university now, so they’re still sort of in that high school phase.”

Jaemin smiles prettily, and nods. “I’d like that!”

Jeno’s mother takes it upon herself to give that tour, and Jeno just follows, reaching out to holding Jaemin’s hand and not letting go even when the younger boy blushes and tries to pull away.

“Here’s Jeno’s room,” she says, pulling both the boys inside. Jeno’s room is a little embarrassing, but Jeno still houses fond feelings for it. It’s a physical representation of high school Jeno — posters of his favourite ice hockey teams, his guitar, records and record player, his sports equipment, and other knick knacks lying around. It’s a personification of organized chaos — it looks like it’s random strewn stuff, but Jeno actually does know where and how to find anything.

Jaemin seems enamoured, holding on to crook of Jeno’s elbow and looking around curiously.

“It’s really you,” he says, “A younger version of you, maybe, but really you. All the posters and the musical instruments.”

Jeno scratches the back of his neck awkwardly but smiles. “Yeah. I do like this room quite a bit.”

“How was your teenage room, Jaemin-ah?” Jeno’s mother asks, setting herself down on Jeno’s chair. Jeno pulls Jaemin down to sit comfortable on the bed.

“I was a more minimal sort of a teenager,” Jaemin admits, and Jeno thinks back to when he’d been to Jaemin’s house the last summer. Jaemin’s room was neat and pristine, almost like a hotel room — most of his stuff was well arranged and out of sight in his wardrobe or drawers, with a few things placed in places of display. Most of them were trophies or medals he’d earned in science and math competitions.

The colours in his room were also muted — beiges and monochrome, with the same light wood laminate on all surfaces.

“My room’s a reflection of my mind,” he’s saying, “I have a habit of spontaneously cleaning at any time I feel like it’s getting cluttered, and that helps me feel more clearer mentally too. I don’t know, maybe I picked it up from my parents, they’re both like that too.”

Jeno’s mother nods, but Jeno’s thoughts are running in a different tangent now. He’s noticing how different their rooms and living spaces are in every respect — Jaemin is a clean minimalist. His room didn’t even have posters or such. Jeno on the other hand lives in controlled chaos. His room is darker, and has much more stuff than Jaemin has in his entire house.

How would Jaemin react if they moved in together? Would they be able to move in together at all, seeing how different they were?

“Jeno-yah? Earth to Jeno!”

He snaps out of his thoughts to see Jaemin peering at him curiously. He shakes his head.

“Sorry,” he says, “Got lost in nostalgia.”

Jaemin smiles, nodding in understanding.

“Alright then! We should eat some dinner soon. Jaeminie, would you mind helping me with the last of those jeons?”

Jaemin’s getting up immediately, “Of course!” And then, in a burst of courage, he leans down to press his lips against Jeno’s cheek for a quick kiss. “I’ll go downstairs first, yeah?”

Jeno nods at him with a small smile, and Jaemin follows his mother out. Jeno sighs, putting his head into his arms. Mark, who’d been walking by Jeno’s room to go into his own stops short.

“You okay, Jeno-yah?” he asks. Jeno looks up, and pauses.

“I just—” He sighs.

Mark seems to understand, and he walks into the room, closing the door behind him and sitting down next to him on the bed.

“Tell me what’s on your mind, Jeno-yah,” he says. Jeno sighs, leaning back against the wall.

“I just— every time I think I’m going to ask Jaemin to move in with me, I chicken out. I find a reason that tells me not to do it, over and over. I — what if he doesn’t want to, hyung? We’re very different when it comes to how we live. He’s neat and clean and perfect and I’m,” he gestures around his room, “Why would he want to live with me?”

Mark sighs. “Jeno-yah,” he says, “Have you considered the fact that people are always different, but they learn to live through their differences? Jaemin loves you. I would go as far as saying you two are definitely going to get married at some point in the future. You two are going to live together, and you’ve known each other for three years now. You’ll both find a way to live together. Isn’t that the point? You find middle ground in your differences, and you appreciate that, because you want to spend time with that person. You and I shared a room for almost a year, and we’re _very_ different people.”

Jeno nods. Everything that Mark says makes sense. He isn’t sure why he keeps holding off on asking Jaemin, why insecurities keep popping up when he knows. He knows Jaemin loves him. He knows he’s willing to make changes to adjust to how Jaemin lives, and Jaemin would be willing to do that too.

He knows they can make it work. But that doesn’t stop the what-ifs to cloud his brain.

Mark places a hand on his shoulder.

“On the flip side,” Mark says, “Maybe another reason why you keep copping out is that you’re taking so much stress about it. Take some time to not think about it. You two have time for that. Take some time and come to terms with the idea. I feel like you’ve been trying to jump the train of asking the question, but you haven’t just given yourself time to revel in the idea of living with Jaemin. Do that, and you’ll want to ask, because you love him. And you want to move in with him. Stop thinking about asking him, just get comfortable with that idea.”

Jeno smiles. “How is it that you always know what to say when I come to you for help?” Jeno asks Mark, and Mark just ruffles his hair fondly, “I’m just relaying back what you already know to you, Jeno-yah. It’s always easier for someone looking from the outside to see the bigger picture.”

Jeno nods. Mark is right. He’s going to take some time to just let the idea sit in his head — waking up next to Jaemin every day, helping him out with the cooking once in a while so he’s not always stressed about it, watching movies cuddled up on the couch, coming home knowing he’s going to see Jaemin soon. He likes that idea very much.

And when they go downstairs, Jeno’s holding on to Jaemin’s hand under the dinner table and smiling so wide because _oh my god, he loves this boy_. He loves when his eyes crinkle as he laughs at Mark going red when his mother asks Jeno about Donghyuck, and if he’s dating anyone. He loves how he squeezes Jeno’s arm softly occasionally because of how happy he is. He loves how he keeps blushing when Jeno’s parents keep complimenting his food.

_I’m going to spend my life loving and cherishing you Na Jaemin_ , he thinks, _I promise you that_.

_⤏_

_+1_ |

Jeno can’t help but laugh when Jaemin opens the door to his and Renjun’s apartment, covered head to toe in flour, but eyes shiny and bright when he looks at Jeno.

“Jeno-yah!” he says excitedly, and Jeno doesn’t care that he’s covered in flour and that Jeno’s wearing dark clothes that it’ll most definitely be visible on, and pulls him into a hug, nuzzling his face into Jaemin’s shoulder.

“Hey baby,” he murmurs, and Jaemin’s shoulders rumble as he laughs.

“You’re also going to get flour all over you, love,” Jaemin murmurs, pulling him off and then smiling softly at him. Jeno closes the door behind him, and pulls up the small bouquet of roses he’s bought for Jaemin. It’s a beautifully made array of red roses — _I love you_ , white roses — _I cherish you, and I’m hoping for a beautiful future with you_ , and purple roses — _I fell for you at first site, and you’re magical_. Jaemin was the one who’d explained the meanings of those roses to him, and he watches as Jaemin’s eyes water when he realizes Jeno’s specifically made sure to include the three Jaemin had been most excited to tell Jeno about.

“Happy three years, love,” Jeno murmurs softly, pressing a kiss to Jaemin’s temple, “I love you so, _so_ much.”

“I love you _so much_ too, Lee Jeno,” Jaemin says, “You’re a dream come true.”

He places the flowers next to a vase on the kitchen island — unlike Jeno, who doesn’t really know how to keep flowers alive, Jaemin always makes sure that his are well decorated around the house — and then puts a baking tray in the over before pulling off his apron and dusting the flour off of himself.

“I’m baking a vanilla chocolate chip cake,” he says, and Jeno smiles. That’s what the two of them had had when they’d gone on their first date, and Jaemin’s not forgotten to make it, or variations of it, on each of their anniversaries.

Jeno wraps his hands softly around the younger again, this time pulling him in for a kiss, and mumbles against his lips, “You’re an angel. My angel.”

Jaemin giggles.

“Give me five minutes to change out of these into cleaner clothes, yeah?” he asks. Jeno nods, letting Jaemin lead him to the living room.

“Is Renjun not home?”

“I don’t think I would’ve called you over for our anniversary if he would be around,” Jaemin says, “I love Renjun, but he and Hyuck have a tendency of interrupting us far too often.”

“So your plan for the day is eating cake and making out, then?” Jeno asks, lips pulling up in a smirk. This time though, Jaemin doesn’t flush. Instead he leans over to steal a kiss from Jeno and grins.

“That’s exactly the plan, yes,” he says with a laugh. “Renjun’s gone back home to China for a few days before he gets swamped with work again.”

Jeno nods in understanding. It seems like all of them were doing that — Hyuck was back at home too (although he’s been spending quite a lot of time talking with Mark on the phone, and it was only so long that they can keep up the pretense of talking about his internship only, because Hyuck sure doesn’t call Jeno that often), and Jeno and Mark and had come back only the previous day (Jaemin had left the Lee household early to spend some time with his parents before returning back to Seoul and deal with other med school related stuff). Chenle and Jisung were visiting Chenle’s family in China too.

Jaemin lets go of his hand to go into his room to change, and Jeno lazily looks around the room, until his eyes land on the laptop that Jaemin’s left open on the coffee table in front of him.

Looking at apartments near the SMU area.

Jeno can’t help but lean forward curiously, a small bubble in his chest bursting.

_He’s already started looking at apartments_ , he thinks, _maybe he and Renjun have talked about continuing to live together already_.

“I ordered in some food because I didn’t have time to make an— _oh_.”

Jeno turns around, ears heating up knowing Jaemin’s caught him looking at the computer. There’s no point in trying to hide that, so he smiles at his boyfriend, hoping it doesn’t look too strained.

“Saw you were looking for apartments,” he says, and then adds, “You added the wrong filter though — you’re accidentally looking at single bedroom studios, not two bedrooms. Wouldn’t you and Renjun need two bedrooms?”

Jaemin pauses. “Me and Renjun?”

Jeno doesn’t really want to talk about it. He doesn’t want to sound down to Jaemin either. It’s their anniversary, he doesn’t want to be a downer. He has to reply.

“Yeah, I mean, you guys must’ve talked about rooming together again—”

Jaemin’s looking at the floor now, fingers playing with the hem of the shirt that he’s changed into.

“I, uh,” he says quietly, “It wasn’t a mistake that I was looking at one bedroom studios, Jeno-yah. I was— I was hoping to move in with _you_.”

Jeno freezes and his brain short circuits. _Me? Jaemin wanted to move in with me?_

Jaemin seems to have taken his silence in a wrong way though, because he’s tumbling over his words next, “We don’t have to do that, oh my god. You know how I get, jumping too far ahead in my thought process. I’d been thinking about it for a few weeks, but I’d always lose the courage to ask you because what if you didn’t want to move in with me, but I was just thinking about it and it made me want to look at apartments for fun and—”

Jeno walks over, wrapping his arm around Jaemin’s neck, and pulls him into a kiss. Jaemin pauses in surprise against Jeno’s lips before he reciprocates, eyes closing and head tilting ever so slightly to deepen the kiss, moulding himself against Jeno’s body.

“I love you,” Jeno mumbles against his lips, “I love you so much, Na Jaemin, that my heart is threatening to burst out of my goddamn chest at the thought of you also wanting to move in with me.”

Jaemin stills, pulling back and looking Jeno in the eyes. “ _Also_?”

Jeno can’t help the laugh that bubbles up his lips. “Yes, angel, _also_. I’ve been trying to ask for over a month now, and I keep chickening out.”

Jaemin’s smile is bright, and so, so happy at Jeno’s words. He’s then peppering kisses all over Jeno’s face — his eyes, his cheeks, his mouth, _everywhere_ — and he’s giggling and happy nuzzling his chin into Jeno’s shoulder and _god_ , Jeno feels like he’s floating on a cloud.

_Jaemin also wants to move in with me._

“We’re both fools,” he says with a chuckle, as Jaemin brushes off hair that’s fallen to Jeno’s forehead.

“Fools in love,” Jaemin says softly, “I’m foolishly in love with you, Lee Jeno, and I’d _love_ _love love_ to move in with you.”

Jeno feels so, _so_ happy right now, he feels like he could do anything in the world.

“Me too, Jaemin-ah,” he manages, “You don’t know how lucky I am to have fallen in love with you, my angel.”

And Jaemin giggles again and Jeno wants to bottle this feeling forever. Because everything right now, at this very moment, is perfect. And he is so hopeless, irrevocably and completely in love. And he hopes it always stays like this.

E N D

**Author's Note:**

> this au was written and posted on twitter first! it's retweetable [here](https://twitter.com/nanasbyulie/status/1360062839105404929)!
> 
> thank you so much for reading, and i hope y'all liked it! please do leave kudos and comments if you feel like this work deserves them. have a lovely day 🥺


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